Studying archaeology (undergraduate)

Archaeology is studied in one form or another by a very large number of students at St. Andrews. Most will be working towards degrees involving History of one kind or another, Classics or Art History, but some take courses as part of degrees in Theology or other subjects. The flexibility of the St. Andrews Degree encourages students to study a wide range of subjects, archaeology is one that many choose to try and many of those who try it stay hooked. These courses are often especially popular with international students, many visiting on the Junior Year Abroad and Junior Semester Abroad scheme.

Archaeology as taught at St Andrews

The University does not have a Department of Archaeology. Archaeology courses and the staff that teach them are distributed through several Schools and many departments. For a list of some of those staff most involved see University staff with Archaeological Interests. Most of these departments are concerned with the culture and society of historical periods, and so archaeology at St. Andrews has a strong historical flavour. We teach little prehistory, no archaeological science, except in so far as it plays a part in our teaching of archaeological method, and our main strengths are in the archaeology of the classical world and mediaeval Europe, and of course in Scotland. Most of us are especially interested in seeing how the art and archaeology of past civilizations can be combined with other information about them. Our courses do not provide a full training in British archaeology appropriate for someone set on working in professional or commercial archaeology in the UK. They do provide an excellent education in the wider use of the archaeological material for understanding ancient societies. Nevertheless, recent graduates include some who have gone on to work as professional archaeologist, many who have gone on to take a professional qualification in Museum Studies (with which we have strong links) and some who have done further, postgraduate study in archaeology, either here or elsewhere. 

Archaeological Courses

Students at St. Andrews study a range of courses in their first two (sub-honours) years. No specifically archaeological courses are run at sub-honours level but archaeology is integrated into the Ancient History and Classical Studies modules. The emphasis at this point is in learning to use archaeological and historical sources together. Some modules do build in a specifically archaeological week, and offer the choice of assessed work on archaeological themes within these broad courses.

At Honours level we offer a wide range of courses that are entirely or largely archaeological in content. A number of these are listed below, although not all are available every year. Every Honours programme has its own rules about which courses may be taken, but most of these attract takers from a number of Honours programmes in History, Classics and related disciplines.

Degrees including Archaeology

Two Honours programmes exists in which archaeology plays a major part. These are ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY and MEDIAEVAL HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY. In each case students take the core course, AN3020 Principles and Techniques in Archaeology, and then a selection from a list of approved modules in archaeology and in the history of the period of your choice. You are not restricted to only mediaeval or only ancient courses. Candidates for this degree often attend the Summer Schools run at the British School at Athens and the British School of Rome, to which the St. Andrews has the right to nominate at least one person each year. One popular option within these degrees is the chance to write a dissertation on some subject of archaeological and historical interest.

Students studying for these joint degrees are prominent in the Student Archaeological Society and in archaeology in St. Andrews more generally. If you would like to know more about studying at St. Andrews, have a look at Undergraduate Study at St. Andrews.

Sample of Archaeological Honours Modules available in the School of Classics

• AN3020 Principles and Techniques in Archaeology
• AN4117 Art of the Roman Empire
• AN4121 The Ancient City of Rome
• AN4127 In the footsteps of the Ancients: exploring the archaeology and topography of Greece
• AN4130 The Roman Army
• AN4132 Archaic Greece
• AN4145 The Archaeology of Roman Britain
• AN4146 The Supremacy of Greece: Athens and Sparta 479 - 362 BCE
• AN4147 Government and Society under Diocletian
  

Other Honours Modules may be available in the Department of Medieval History

Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities

Some of our staff have active fieldwork programmes. When these programmes are running students are encouraged to apply for placement. If they are not running, every effort is made to help students find a place on an archaeological project or on one of the British School Summer Schools.

Fieldwork at Bronze Age Site of Phylakopi, Melos, Greece